#NewToMe2017 – I have not previously read this book or anything by these authors.

There were parts of this book that interested me as a writer. It would certainly be more relevant for non-fiction than fiction, but it’s still useful either way. The book had some insights and knowledge that I had not encountered before. I enjoyed doing the suggested exercises to the best of my ability (see next section about downloads). The book has helped me set some new goals, and for that, I’m grateful.

To create my “pick up plan” I was supposed to download a template. To download a template, I had to go to the site (again) and enter my name and email (again) and wait for yet another email that never comes (and yeah, I’ve checked spam).
When an author has templates that go with the book and I have “sign up for” or jump through a hoop to get them, I feel annoyed and exploited.
When that template doesn’t come, I feel cheated and betrayed, and my opinion of the author’s authority drops considerably. I question if the author does not believe in the work, and thus created a way to trick readers onto a mailing list.
I wonder what my purchase meant to the author. I wonder if I’m just a number to grow an email list.
I would prefer if I could go to a web page and download the templates which accompany the book, and then be given an option to sign up for a mailing list and such. If a book is genuinely good, then I’d sign up. But I feel that being required to sign up for an email list (especially to get what I’d consider “the other 25% of the book I paid for) is a weak and shady business practice.
As a result of several templates that never came and being required to sign up for an email list to attempt to get them (rather than signing up because of a genuine interest), I’m knocking off two stars. I’m genuinely more displeased at having to sign up for a list than I am that the emails didn’t come. Forcing me to sign up to get the rest of what I paid for is a choice the author made. Only one download (the 8-page workbook) out of all of them coming is probably some computer glitch, and that’s something which annoys me but that I could forgive.

The sections about Trolls were well-written, humorous, and insightful. (However, it doesn’t address how to deal with doxing. Perhaps because no one actually knows how to deal with it yet.) But I liked that section enough to give back one star.

That’s a total of 4 out of 5 stars for this book.
So long as you’re prepared to click on SIXTEEN links to 47MindHacks.com (backslash whatever template or directory), and enter your name and email address each time, you’ll enjoy this book.

I do believe that plenty of people read, and that self-publishing is a viable option, and most of the rest from the workbook. (The only email download from the sign-up list to come.)

UPDATE

First off, I’d like to thank you for buying our book. I know there are lots of books you can choose from on Amazon and I appreciate you choosing ours.

This brings me to the second thing I wanted to contact you about. I saw your review on Amazon and I would like to apologize for the issues you encountered with our email optin process. I can confirm that once you have joined our email list once, you will then get access to all of the extra materials that our book mentions. We definitely wanted to avoid asking our readers to optin for every single extra we have available.

I see that you did receive the email for the Workbook. That email also contained your login details so you can access ALL of the other extras from the book. Now that I look at it, I can definitely see that this could be communicated more clearly so it is easier for people to realize that. I am working on updating that specific email so it is more clear.

Thanks for your feedback and please let me know if you have questions or if there is anything else I can help with.

Regards,
Steve

Steve Dimmick

In fairness, this is an example of what I saw in the ebook:
I went to that link expecting just the template for the pick up plan.

I got to the site and believed I was going to get the template.

The template for pick up plan is still the only thing I expected.

This is what came.

In all honesty, I didn’t give it my full attention. I didn’t read it for comprehension. I was motivated by the book and wanted to fill out a template. So I clicked download. It wasn’t the template. I figured the wrong item came and I went back to reading the book. I did not reread the email. (Today is the first time I’ve ever really given that email a proper read.)

I went to more of the links, looking for similar stuff, but never received emails with WHAT I WENT TO THE LINKS TO GET. That was the only email that ever came.

I did not look at the email and then go to another link and log in and then try to get stuff again. That is what the email intended for me to do.
I was meant to

STOP reading the book.

Go to a link.

Input my email.

Get an email (not with the desired item, but with instructions).

Fully read the email instructions.

Go to another site.

Log in.

Do whatever there to get the goods. (I don’t know because I never went.)

Still feel motivated enough to do the template.

Go back to reading the book.

If you’re the sort of reader who will do all those steps, you might well enjoy the book more than I did.
I do not care for this system. My star rating remains unchanged by this information.
To each one’s own.
In the comments, you’ll see that Juneta had a better experience and DID complete the required steps.

I’ll also mention that the workbook (the download I thought would be the pick up plan template but wasn’t) was meant, in part, to be done before reading the book. But I didn’t go to a link that triggered an email until the Pick Up Plan template link was up, which is 36% of the way into the book.

Do you feel that templates with reference books should be easy to access, or that authors should require an email sign up in order for a reader to get the accompanying book material?

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/06/02/book-review-of-47-mind-hacks-for-writers-newtome2017/feed/83586Author Procrastinationhttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/06/01/author-procrastination/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/06/01/author-procrastination/#commentsThu, 01 Jun 2017 16:25:13 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3579I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. Why am I procrastinating? That’s the subject of today’s exercise. What will happen when I complete my Fractions of Existence book? When there’s no more editing, reasonably speaking, to do? I will have to …

Why am I procrastinating?

That’s the subject of today’s exercise.

What will happen when I complete my Fractions of Existence book? When there’s no more editing, reasonably speaking, to do?

I will have to come up with a promotion plan.
It might take months or years to get 5, 20, or even 50 reviews.
Some of those reviews will be from people who do not “get” the book, and some from people will not carefully read it.
Some people will question why I didn’t make the books into graphic novels. (I don’t have an interested artist.)
I’ll need to resume work on book two. The opening of book two is extremely dark.
Becoming the author that published FoE will redefine me from just “speculative fiction” writer to author of this.

If Fractions of Existence is a success, it will boost the sales of the next books in the series, along with the high fantasy series which follows. It will open up the minds of some readers, exposing them to a lore they haven’t heard of before, one that either enhances their beliefs or makes the reader question their beliefs. But some people will probably just think it’s a good fiction story and probably pick a character or two to ship. Maybe focus on a relationship that does happen, did happen, or that they wish would happen. I’m looking forward to Caleb’s shippers.

If Fractions of Existence is a failure, then I’m a failure. I will have fallen down on what was meant to be my destiny. I’d need to reevaluate my life, my beliefs. Hopefully, I’d just pick up and keep on writing. But I’d wonder why I was supposed to tell this story, why they picked me, if I ended up failing. But maybe it’d be one of the things where it’d become super popular 20 years after I’ve done something else or I’m dead or something. Kevin Smith reference time!ClerksBox Office Opening: $31,665Clerks II Box Office Opening: $10,061,132

What will happen in my life after FoE is published is that I’ll be able to direct people to a fiction book I’ve published, one with J Lenni Dorner on the cover.
I have no intention of stopping, of not writing anymore after FoE. In fact, I just made a year of weekly writing goals, and half of them take place after FoE is published.

Yes, I really need to publish Fractions of Existence. Not just because it’s my destiny and I was chosen or whatever, but because I love the story. I love these characters. They deserve a book series, so I’m giving them one.
I wouldn’t rather be doing something other than writing. Except, perhaps, making connections (which can lead to sales, so it’s writing adjacent). I wouldn’t rather have any other fiction book as my debut. Fractions of Existence has always been the first one I wanted to put my name on.
I don’t want anyone else to finish the book for me. Ghost writers are great. (I know, I’ve been one.) But this story is mine to tell. I was given these characters to weave into this lore.
Editing parts that I’m not sure are actually wrong… that slows me to a stop. It took me a few years to figure out that I’d need to change the whole setting of a scene because it’s the only way I could make the suggested changes. And the opening… that first part has been rewritten to death.

I want to publish the Existence series because I believe the characters can give people a reason to aim for more peace, that the books could get one person to reconsider committing an act of violence against another person.

The task at hand is to identify my ideal reader. For the Existence series:

1- Someone who will buy, read, and review my books.

(That was kind of obvious, wasn’t it?)

2- Someone who enjoys fantasy mixed with the real world. Someone who is ready to think, to wonder, and to question. Someone who enjoys a bit of action, a little romance and sexual tension, splashes of darkness, and who isn’t closed off to the idea of beings more powerful than humans (at least in fiction). A reader who pays attention and is patient.

3- Anyone who has ever glanced at ancient histories, mythologies, or architectures and questioned how these groups of people who never met all had such similarities.

3b- Or anyone that ever read those old histories and myths and asked, “Okay, but then what happened?”

4- Readers who get through a whole dystopian book series (Hunger Games) and ask, “Well what happened before? What’s the story before society went off the rails? How did we go from our current world to the one presented in this society? Nuclear weapons, bad leaders, aliens, ran out of bees, what?”

Three is from the story my ancestors passed down. Four is how I figured out when the story should begin. (2003 to 2005 for Fractions of Existence.)

Do you feel like you’re one of those ideal readers? Have you ever made a list of your own ideal readers?

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/31/ideal-reader/feed/23565Genre For Book Marketinghttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/30/genre-for-book-marketing/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/30/genre-for-book-marketing/#commentsTue, 30 May 2017 15:57:16 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3558I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. For today’s excersise, I’m supposed to find some books in my market, guess what they’re about, and then write why my book is different. Fractions of Existence is an Urban Fantasy. Define= “Urban fantasy …

For today’s excersise, I’m supposed to find some books in my market, guess what they’re about, and then write why my book is different.

Fractions of Existence is an Urban Fantasy.

Define= “Urban fantasy describes a work that is set primarily in the real world and contains aspects of fantasy. These matters may involve the arrivals of alien races, the discovery of earthbound mythological creatures, coexistence between humans and paranormal beings, conflicts between humans and malicious paranormals…” Wikipedia

According to Amazon’s list:
Best Sellers in Paranormal & Urban Fantasy

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Unless you’ve been living under a rock at the bottom of the sea, you know what Harry Potter is about. So I’m not going to pretend to “guess” at what’s become common knowledge.

Why my book is different

I don’t have a boy wizard. There’s no Hogwarts. It’s set in NYC. Fractions of Existence has more in common with How I Met Your Mother than with Harry Potter.

2. The Library at Mount Char
I have no idea what this book is actually about. I’m going to guess the main character will turn out to be more than human. There seem to be orphans in this. They have books to guide them, I’m guessing.

Why my book is different

Not about orphans. No books to guide the main character. Vastly different.

3. A Shade of Vampire 44: A Tangle of Hearts
Right off the bat, I’m going to guess this book is about vampires. Looks like some romance and friendships.

Why my book is different

I do not believe the Existence series is ever going to be considered vampire books.

4. Raised in Fire (Fire and Ice Trilogy Book 2)
Takes place in Seattle. Has Mages, Demons, a vampire, guilds, and swords. Possibly a detective novel.

Why my book is different

Takes place in NYC, southern CA, and on a cross-country road trip. This isn’t a spellcasting book, nor is it a detective series.

5. American Gods
A storm brewing for the soul of America. Seems to focus on one character figuring out mysteries of the fantastical variety.

Why my book is different

It isn’t just about America. It isn’t even just about one character.

6. The Secret of Spellshadow Manor
I’m going to guess it’s mostly a book with magic.

Why my book is different

Fractions of Existence doesn’t have Magic.

7. Born in Fire (Fire and Ice Trilogy Book 1)
“Supernatural Bounty Hunter” and a vampire.

Why my book is different

No “Supernatural Bounty Hunter.”

8. The Billionaire Dragon’s Secret Son
I’m guessing there’s a shifter that turns into a dragon, and he and the main female character are going to make a baby (or already have).

Why my book is different

Fractions of Existence does not mention dragons. There are no secret babies.

9. Alastair Stone Chronicles Box Set: Alastair Stone Chronicles, Books 1 through 4
A professor who is a mage is also an investigator.

Why my book is different

Not about professors, mages, or investigators.

10. Death and Relaxation (Ordinary Magic Book 1)
Police chief with magical powers deals with the paranormal.

Why my book is different

Again, Fractions of Existence isn’t any type of detective novel.

To be honest, the first book on this list that seems even slightly close to Fractions of Existence is:Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch (Number 84 on the list.)

I decided to take a look at another Amazon list.

Best Sellers in Myths & Legends Fantasy

15. Elementals: The Complete Series
“Nicole Cassidy is a witch descended from the Greek gods” A comet awakens powers.

Why my book is different

The main characters in the Existence series do not descend from the Greek gods.
There isn’t a witch in Fractions of Existence.
There’s no comet.

Just for fun:

The Historian
It’s 16 on this list. It isn’t like Fractions of Existence, but the antagonists would own this book, or one much like it.

The Land: Founding: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 1)
Number 18 on the list is a book that both Xavier and Gwendolyn would probably read.

The Prophecy: The Fulfillment Series, Book 1
This description has a similar feel, except the reader age is far younger than my book.

I do have action and adventure, but “Literary Fiction separates itself from Genre because it is not about escaping from reality, instead, it provides a means to better understand the world and delivers real emotional responses.” – HuffPo And that is not a category I expect to land in.

Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Historical
I just looked at the top 100, and none have any real similarities to Fractions of Existence.

(Fairy Tales does not seem to be a category under Fantasy in Books, only in Kindle. Interesting.)
Nothing in the top 100 of Best Sellers in Fairy Tales is comparable to Fractions of Existence.

I just read descriptions of a lot of books, and none of them strike me as similar to what I’ve written.

On the upside, according to 47 Mind Hacks for Writers, this means I’ll stand out in marketing.

On the downside, the lack of vampires, detectives, orphaned main characters, magic users, and dragons could alienate me from those who read Urban Fantasy.

Have you ever encountered a book that didn’t seem similar to other books in the same the categories/ genres?

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/30/genre-for-book-marketing/feed/53558Anti Inner Critichttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/25/anti-inner-critic/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/25/anti-inner-critic/#commentsThu, 25 May 2017 15:54:01 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3539I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. Note to my inner critic: A few people have disliked the opening of Fractions of Existence. (*Rather, they’ve disliked various openings, as no two people who disliked an opening read more than one.) BUT …

Note to my inner critic:
A few people have disliked the opening of Fractions of Existence. (*Rather, they’ve disliked various openings, as no two people who disliked an opening read more than one.)BUT
Some people have liked the opening of Fractions of Existence. (Those same people have liked every one of them.)

I wonder if bakers go through this?
One person disliked the chocolate cake, which was the only one the person tried. One person disliked the cherry cake, which was the only one the person tried. One person disliked the hazelnut cake, which was the only one the person tried.
And the other few people liked all three of the cakes.

Why do the cake tasters that disliked have more weight to their opinion?
“Maybe the other people just really like cake. Any cake at all. Maybe they don’t know good cake from bad cake.”
And that might be true. But… doesn’t it also stand to reason that those cake loving fools are the ones out there buying cakes? Maybe the people who don’t like cake aren’t buying many cakes. Maybe they’d never buy a cake because they only like their own cake and maybe the cakes of two other people. Honestly, the cake disliking people, I don’t know them that well, so I don’t know if they eat cake.
I do know the other people. And the fear that they’ll like any cake I make is what gives less weight to their opinion, even though these are people who I know actually do buy cakes.

Words to say to counter the inner critic:

There are readers who enjoy my words.
There will be more readers, ones who will make it beyond the first set of words, beyond the first few pages, beyond the first chapter. They too will enjoy my words.
I will eventually get more than 50 Amazon reviews for Fractions of Existence.
I’ll honor my ancestors.

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/25/anti-inner-critic/feed/33539Trigger, Action, Reward, Investment in Writinghttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/24/trigger-action-reward-investment-in-writing/
Wed, 24 May 2017 15:57:46 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3532(If you took part in April, today is the day to stop over at the A to Z Challenge site. The survey results are in!) I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. To create my “pick up plan” I was supposed …

To download a template, I had to go to the site (again) and enter my name and email (again) and wait for yet another email that never comes (and yeah, I’ve checked spam).

I’m telling you right now, this is the one thing about this book that annoys me. If you’re going to offer a template, just offer it. If I have to sign up for your email list to get it, I’m irritated. If I have to sign up for the same stupid list MORE THAN twice, that’s not acceptable. (I still I’ve not received this stuff a week later. I might have unsubscribed after the first template, so maybe now I’m not eligible for the rest of them. I genuinely don’t want to be on this email list.) Right now, I’m ready to knock two stars off the review for this. I find this sort of campaigning to be offensive. You sold me 75% of your book, in my opinion. Not even a free book! No. That feels shady and underhanded.

Trigger

Sitting down with a tasty, caffeinated beverage triggers me to open a writing program. (Word, Scrivener, Google Docs)
The trouble with this is, no matter how many rewording attempts I’ve tried (that’s number 5, btw), I can’t find a way to make it always true. I do have beverages at other times of the day. I do open those programs for other reasons.
I’ve been meaning to try the tip of lighting the same candle everytime I sit down to write. Perhaps this is the time to give it a whirl.Lighting the coffee candle will trigger me to work on this week’s activity to reach my end goals.

Action

actions should be “easier than thinking”

I thought writing would be the action. But as I read (here and here and other site I listed), it doesn’t seem like it is. The action seems like it should just be to open the file containing the project.
On the other hand, the book suggests “writing for five to ten minutes” as an action.Access the project, perhaps get a little work done.

Variable Reward

Based on the three sites, it seems the best reward is something I’d want but am not expecting. Like when I’m in the forest, living there for a few days, and need to get food. I want nutrition, but I don’t know if I should expect deer, rabbit, fish, or berries. What’s for dinner depends on a hundred little factors. (Have I ever mentioned how much “meal planning before writing a grocery list” makes me want to bash my head against the wall? I’m the only person screwed up enough to be excited when the grocery store is out of something. Until my beloved Snookums points out that there are two more stores within a mile. My actual favorite meal is “surprise me,” because not knowing what it’s going to be is always a million times more rewarding, and feels more real, than naming any certain dish. This is one of those times when people call me “difficult.”)

Okay, so… maybe if I toss a bunch of stickers in a box and don’t know what one I’ll get as a reward, that’d do it.

Investment / Escalation

In the book, the purpose of this is to get back into the habit. The escalation is that if I wrote for 5 minutes one day to get the reward, I’d have to write for ten minutes the next day for that same reward, and so on until I got back into my normal groove of writing for three hours straight or what have you.

The investment generally comes in the form of asking the user to give some combination of time, data, effort, social capital or money.

It’s possible the authors of the book considered buying the book to be the action and signing up for the same mailing list multiple times to be the Investment / Escalation. It’s having the opposite effect on me due to the lack of reward. (The stupid freaking email that never comes. Mouse presses button, mouse expects cheese. After three presses, the mouse isn’t gonna bother with the stupid button anymore.)

I’m not sure I fully grasp this one, but it seems like the long-term purpose is to figure out what will make me keep coming back to this over and over again.My investment is a completed and published story. That’s important because:

((Update Note:
Subject: Book Formatting and a Quick Question
From: “Bookthority”
Date: Wed, May 24, 2017 2:03 am
I DID get an email where the authors are considering an ebook formatting class. So I know I’m on at least one of the mailing lists. Just not the one where I get the templates from the ebook.))

How do you feel when you’ve spent money on a book and then need to sign up for an email list to receive portions of that book?

]]>353252 Weeks of Writing Goalshttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/23/52-weeks-of-writing-goals/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/23/52-weeks-of-writing-goals/#commentsTue, 23 May 2017 15:57:05 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3527I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. The next step is to break my goals down from the “end” to the next 52 weeks. Current Writing End Goals From the End Goals of an Author post. To consider the feedback of …

2018

Dec 31- Jan 6 Get Anah’s story to Beta group.
Jan 7- Jan 13 BOUT OF BOOKS
Jan 14- Jan 20
Jan 21- Jan 27 Work on Tribal and/or High Fantasy shorts
Jan 28- Feb 3 Edit Anah’s story.
Feb 4- Feb 10 Edit Anah’s story.
Feb 11- Feb 17 Finalize Anah’s story stuff.
Feb 18- Feb 24 Prepare for the A to Z Challenge
Feb 25- March 3 Prepare for the A to Z Challenge
March 4- March 10 Prepare for the A to Z Challenge
March 11- March 17 Prepare for the A to Z Challenge
March 18- March 24 Prepare story for STORYTIME BLOGHOP

March 25- March 31 Publish Anah’s stroy.

April 1- April 7 A to Z Challenge
April 8- April 14 A to Z Challenge
April 15- April 21 A to Z Challenge
April 22- April 28 A to Z Challenge
April 29- May 5 A to Z Challenge
May 6- May 12 ~away~
May 13- May 19 BOUT OF BOOKS
May 20- May 26 Work on Tribal and/or High Fantasy shorts

I left myself three weeks of wiggle room in Dec/ Jan. I think that’s realistic.
I also get to give myself “win” stickers each week that I manage these goals. Stay tuned the last Friday of the month, every month, if you’re interested in my progress.

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/23/52-weeks-of-writing-goals/feed/23527Can Fiction Create a Reason for More Peace and Less Violencehttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/22/can-fiction-create-a-reason-for-more-peace-and-less-violence/
Mon, 22 May 2017 15:57:23 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3525I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. This is another goal setting exercise, but this time it seems to be to determine why a set goal is important. I’m going to start by working with a goal from my previous post. …

This is another goal setting exercise, but this time it seems to be to determine why a set goal is important.
I’m going to start by working with a goal from my previous post.

To consider the feedback of two (already lined up) Beta Readers and then self-publish Fractions of Existence in 2017.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m knocking that down to just the ending. (I already know why I’m considering the feedback of these two lined up Beta Readers. One is a tough critic and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can win him over. The other is great for spotting errors, so that’s more like a proofing thing, which matters because I have two new scenes.)
For this, I’m supposed to label the answers 1 thru 7.

What’s important to me about publishing Fractions of Existence?

1— The basis of FoE was passed on to me by my ancestors. I was chosen to write it, to be the one to share this story and these characters with the world.

What’s important to me about publishing the story my ancestors chose me to write?

2— I fell in love with the characters and got to know them in a way that, perhaps, no other ever had. I feel that it’s important to share this version, my version, of them.

What’s important to me about sharing these characters?

3— There’s so much world history that divides us. These characters, though it perhaps isn’t totally evident in the first book, are the opposite of that. They are what unites humanity.

What’s important to me about humanity being united?

4— Peace is the end result of a united humanity. Perhaps we aren’t all working toward one goal, but maybe if certain groups felt that our origin was more common ground, maybe it would change the way they think. That’s a bit pie-in-the-sky for a fiction series, but if it stops one act of violence, that’d be something.

What’s important to me about peace, common ground, and stopping violence?

5— I grew up in a peaceful community where people considered all life to be connected. The acts of violence I’ve experienced outside of that community… (I’m the uncivilized one? There’s something wrong with the Dictionary.) I don’t see how society can possibly go on this way. And, SPOILER ALERT, the book series will reflect that. (Is that a spoiler? I’ve mentioned before that the first four books are pre-dystopian.)

What’s important to me about keeping society from collapsing in a dystopia?

6— Okay, first off, my ego needs to clarify that I don’t believe that this one book series is going to single-handly usher in world peace, or even peace in one country. But what would make a huge difference is if it changed the view and actions of one person who would have otherwise committed an act of violence. (This trail of thought is really interesting, considering that the characters in the book aren’t non-violent. One especially, who very much enjoys wars and fighting.)

What’s important to me about getting just one person to not commit violence against another?

7— It will mean the world to the person who isn’t hurt. Technically, the person probably will never know. That’s okay. I can’t change my own past, or the past of others who have been hurt. But maybe, just maybe, I’ll save one person.

The next part is summing up the reasons from 5, 6, and 7.

I want to publish the Existence series because I believe the characters can give people a reason to aim for more peace, that the books could get one person to reconsider committing an act of violence against another person.

Seems like a very lofty goal.

How would it work out with Anah’s story?

What’s important to me about publishing Anah’s Story?

1— I hadn’t set out with that intention, but several people liked it and asked if I was going to turn it into a book. So I guess what’s important to be about publishing this story is appeasing the crowd, giving the people what they want because I’ll enjoy doing it.

What’s important to me about giving people what they want while doing what I enjoy doing?

2— To write a story that’s already marketed is much easier than writing one that an audience is leery about. (This is the basis for why big-name authors can get almost any book greenlit.)

What’s important to me about writing a story that’s easier?

3— It’s relaxing and cathartic. I love writing. The stress of trying to sell a hard-to-grasp concept or book with a controversial subject at the core has left me broken. Trying to phrase a query letter in a way that makes it seem like Fractions of Existence could be a stand alone book… absurd. It isn’t. It’s just the latest part of the story that can serve as an opening. If it started on the second book, the audience wouldn’t know why Gwendolyn is so far behind everyone else. If it started on book three, six of the character arcs would be lost. If it started on book four, none of it would make sense at all. But now I’m rambling on about the Existence series when I’m supposed to be talking about Anah’s story!

What’s important to me about writing a less stressful story?

4— It’d just be fun. Just fun, plain and simple.

What’s important to me about writing for fun?

5— I don’t want to be one of those writers that burns out. There’s a point where it’s not just writer’s block, where it’s dread and fear and negative emotions. I don’t want those bad juju vibes in my writing space!

What’s important to me about not burning out?

6— There’s nothing I’d rather do with my life than write. Burning out would prevent that.

What’s important to me about writing?

7— It’s what I’m meant to do, or so I’ve been told. And, honestly, it does feel like what I should do, because it’s something I have been doing since I was old enough to string together sentences on a page. There’s nothing I’d rather study, nothing I’d rather devote my career time to, nothing I’d rather be remembered for work-wise. Maybe it’s more than work-wise, since that seems to be how history remembers people — not as great spouses, parents, or children, but as leaders, artists, or inventors.
(Off the top of your head: Gaius Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Charles Dickens, Melitta Bentz, Charles Babbage — who were their spouses, parents, and children? Roman Emperor, French Conquer, painter, writer, coffee filter inventor, father of computers — that’s how they’re remembered by the population. We remember people for what sets them apart from the pack, not for mastering what we’re all expected to do well.)

Summary of 5, 6, and 7:

I want to be remembered for writing because that’s what I want to spend my life doing, and I never want to stop.

]]>3525End Goals of an Authorhttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/20/end-goals-of-an-author/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/20/end-goals-of-an-author/#commentsSat, 20 May 2017 14:24:28 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3520I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. Map the end goal If writing a book is a journey, then it’s up to the writer to determine the destination, the point where the author considers it a success. “…end goal where you …

Map the end goal

If writing a book is a journey, then it’s up to the writer to determine the destination, the point where the author considers it a success.

“…end goal where you and only you are contributing to the outcome.” (Line from the book.)

So my bucket list goal of “sell 2,000 copies in one week or 8,000 copies in one month” won’t work here, because I cannot control sales. I can take actions to influence the outcome, but unless I’m personally the one buying the copies, I can’t directly contribute to this outcome. (And, honestly, even if I did buy that many copies, it wouldn’t be reaching the goal, not the true spirit of the goal especially. Technically I didn’t write “to other people” in there, but I believe anyone in the publishing industry will agree that it’s strongly implied and obvious.)

Technically, after hitting the “publish” button on a book-selling site, can a writer control anything? Steps can be taken to influence goals after that (doing book tours, interviews, hoping for reviews, etc), but once “publish” is hit, are the writer and no one else contributing to the outcome of any further success goals?

“Polish and publish” might seem like a good goal, and indeed it accurately describes what I’ve been focused on for the last few years. But polish is a vague term. My inner critic is a psychotic perfectionist when it comes to book editing.

Perhaps the best goal for me right now would be:

To consider the feedback of two (already lined up) Beta Readers and then self-publish Fractions of Existence in 2017.

After that, I intend to work on Anah’s story.

As you can see, a majority of voters are in favor of it becoming a book. I did sacrifice several storylines to create it as an A to Z post.
(If you don’t know what that means, consider Harry Potter — if you read the books, you know what S.P.E.W. is, but if you’ve only seen the movies, you don’t. There was no room for S.P.E.W. in April.)

Great news for anyone who ever wondered… it looks like readers don’t mind if a story (or a large portion of a story) is on a blog first. No one ticked that box at all!

In all honesty, I’d want to publish Anah’s story at the end of March 2018. It exists because of the challenge, so I’d want it to debut for the #AtoZChallenge 2018. So there you go, goal two wrote itself.

Self-publish Anah’s Story by March 20, 2018.

The high fantasy series I’ve written has several holes to patch. As much as “waiting for lightning to strike” is a bad plan, that’s what I’m doing right now. It feels like the answer is right there, just slightly out of grasp yet, but “Eureka” is coming.

I have a high fantasy short story that I never finished. It has five or six scenes that would tie it all together, but the scenes never made it from my head onto a page. The story was one I was working on before my near-death (or temporary death, depending on your point of view). I really like the story and the characters, but every time I start working on it, I’m taken back to that moment, and sort of go off the rails. Perhaps I need a goal of getting around that block. Of not associating that story with that time.

Find a way (emotionally, mentally) to complete the high fantasy short story.

There’s also a story I wrote for a competition. I had to cut a lot of it due to word count restrictions. But it’s a complex story that spans time and generations, and cutting it down made it very confusing. Plus, given the mythology element, it was asking a lot of the reader to accept that there was an unexplained element at work. Someone is both in a room and not in that room at the same time. Or rather, the person is in the room, but hidden in a kind of pocket of magic. (There have been time travel stories along this line, where the traveler can only observe, but is otherwise in a ghost-like state, unable to be detected.) The story is actually person-versus-nature, but the cut-down version seemed like it was two person-versus-person storylines.

Redo the longer version of the tribal story, then self-publish it in 2018.

I feel confident that the only person who can contribute to making those four goals happen is me. None of those rely on another person doing something. Therefore, I believe I’ve done this exercise correctly.

]]>http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/20/end-goals-of-an-author/feed/23520Book Opening Analysishttp://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/19/book-opening-analysis/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2017/05/19/book-opening-analysis/#commentsFri, 19 May 2017 09:32:45 +0000http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/?p=3516I’m reading: 47 Mind Hacks for Writers by Karen Dimmick & Steve Dimmick and using the exercises as blog post prompts. I’m going to analyze the style of writing from books I like. Since openings are what I struggle with the most, I’m going to focus there. Red Queen “I hate First Friday.” Right off …

I’m going to analyze the style of writing from books I like.
Since openings are what I struggle with the most, I’m going to focus there.

Red Queen

“I hate First Friday.”
Right off the bat, I wanted to know what First Friday was, and why the character hates it. I mean, it’s a Friday! People like those, generally. So I was hooked.

Then there’s a description of the setting which includes the time of year, temperature, the population of the area.
And the interesting expression of “enough to make the milk curdle.” That’s nothing something I hear every day.

Divergent

I was drawn in by the odd mirror restriction. I got to know a few basics about the character. It was easy to figure out that she’s in a world where something’s not quite right.

Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family

“If you’re reading this book, I can assume you either want to take over the world and are looking for some pointers, or you simply want to be entertained.”
It’s long, for an opening sentence, but it’s also blunt and honest.

The book goes on to explain why the narrator wrote it. The descriptions are funny and relatable. It drew me in straight away.

As long as I’m doing this, I may as well take a look at my own opening with the same eye. Might as well see if I like the same in my own that I like in others, right?

Fractions of Existence

It was the smell that made him do it. Xavier’s nose suffered from an attack as he stepped out of a Manhattan office building he owned onto the bustling sidewalk of Madison Avenue. It wasn’t a food smell, or one found in nature, or even a kind of perfume. The athletic, agile man tripped twice as he swam through the crowd to find the source of this scent. Not the hotdog cart. Not the bouquets of flowers. Not the tall, unnaturally blonde woman wearing Chanel No 5 (and little else). It was a scent he knew but could not recall from what or where. The smell was like a migraine trigger, except his head didn’t ache with pain. Could he follow his nose to find a way to prevent the apocalypse?

Pretending I didn’t write this…

I’d want to know what the smell was and what it made him do.
I know the setting and population.
The descriptions seem relatable.
I find myself wondering about “The athletic, agile man tripped twice” — is there a lie in the description, or is this because the smell has messed with the character’s anatomy. ((It’s the second thing, btw.))
And then I wondered what a smell has to do with the apocalypse.

So honestly, yes, I do like my opening. I like it as much as three of my favorite openings by other authors.

Perhaps my mind was just “hacked” as intended.

What’s your favorite book opening? Does my opening hook you as much as that, why or why not?